Comfort
by hotchadobsessed
Summary: After what happened to Veronica at River Stix she can't sleep and goes to the one that she thinks she can find comfort from, only to realise she will only be comforted by the only one who can truly understand. LoVe one-shot set during 2x08 - Ahoy Mateys!


**AN: **So I haven't written fanfiction in quite a while, but this is what happens when you're procrastinating writing a uni assignment. Basically my writing over the past few years has been for assignments or work stuff so I hope I can get the creative juices flowing for this story.

For some reason, I decided to re-watch Veronica Mars (I've just finished season 2) and when Logan and Veronica got together in Season 1 I was intrigued – and then Season 2 happened. What was with the severe lack of Logan and Veronica interaction? They didn't have to be together but they could have spent some time together (the 2 second scenes they did have don't count!)

So to make up for the lack of any Logan and Veronica scenes, I'm going to attempt to write a few fanfictions based on some ideas I had while watching and thinking about season 2. So keep an eye out for my stories, but I'm going to start with this one that has been begging to be written. It's set during 2x08 – Ahoy, Mateys! Characters may be a little OOC.

**Spoilers:** I'm just going to be safe and say this will spoil anything of Season 1 or 2, but slight spoiler for 2x06 and obviously 2x08

**Overview: **After what happened to Veronica at River Stix she can't sleep and goes to the one that she thinks she can find comfort from, only to realise she will only be comforted by the only one who can truly understand. No beta so all mistakes are mine.

It was the middle of the night and all was silent in the Mars household. Veronica was asleep in her bed, but awoke with a start. He short blonde hair, which was slowly getting longer, sticking to the back of her neck and forehead with a slight layer of sweat. Her blue eyes stared up at the ceiling as she tried to get her racing heart to slow down.

_Just breathe, Veronica_ _Mars _Lily commanded her. _Calm down, it was just a dream_.

But today at River Stix, staring into the hardened face of Liam Fitzpatrick had not been a dream. She could still feel the breeze on her cheek from the tattoo gun as it had whirred to life, threatening to mar her pretty face with one of the lucky charms. Thank God Logan had shown up. And oh God, Logan and that stupid gun! Looking back now she couldn't think of the gun as stupid, and was really glad he had had it with him. But at the time all she could think about as she saw him standing there pointing the gun at the club members, was the extra danger he was putting himself in.

She swallowed thickly and realized her mouth had gone dry. She pulled back the sheets, revealing her long blue sleep pants and thin black tank top that was her usual summer nights bedtime attire. Silently, she made her way to the kitchen for a glass of water, surprised as she passed her Dad's room where the door stood wide open and the bed was neatly made. There was no sight of her dad as she looked around the tiny apartment, her eyes quickly getting used to the dark and the familiar space.

As she entered the kitchen, she looked at the illuminated digital clock on the oven and saw that it was close to 2am. Veronica was glad that she didn't have school in the morning or she'd be a walking zombie. Moving to the fridge she grabbed a cold bottle of water and took a sip, grateful for the water now sliding down her throat. She aimlessly looked around the room and saw a note on the corner of the bench. Knowing it would be from her Dad, she reached for it.

'Hey Kiddo, got a late night phone call from Mr and Mrs Oliveres. They think they heard something and it may have something to do with the case. It's late so I'm just going to crash there. See you tomorrow.'

Great, she was having nightmares and now she was home alone. She wouldn't normally consider it, but she could go spend the night with Duncan. He was sure to chase the bad dreams away and then she would get a good nights sleep. She didn't want to be alone, but he was probably asleep so she just went back to bed.

Veronica lay back down and closed her eyes, but not more than 10 seconds later they popped open again.

_If you just close your eyes, Veronica Mars, sleep will come _Lily sang.

So Veronica tried again, managing to keep her eyes closed and claiming sleep for a full minute before she was staring into the darkness of her room once more. She huffed and turned onto her stomach, hoping the new position would help her fall asleep. She folded her arms under her pillow, hugging it to her as she closed her eyes. Nope, sleep still eluded her. She sighed deeply and turned back around so she was lying on her back again, eyes wide open. Making up her mind, she reached above her and grabbed her phone off the shelf. It wouldn't hurt just to send him a message, right? If he was awake then she had somewhere to go and didn't have to be alone with her memories of today. If he was asleep then he wouldn't even hear it, no harm done. She stared blankly at the screen before nodding and listening to her gut which was telling her to send the message.

_Yeah, because Donut is really the hero from today_ Lily muttered sarcastically and Veronica could just imagine Lily rolling her eyes with that comment.

'Well it's not like I can just message Logan out of the blue.' Veronica mumbled as she typed out a quick text to send to Duncan. She paused as her finger hovered over the send button. Logan. He lived with Duncan now after the PCHers had set fire to his house. He would be there if she went to see Duncan and one look at her and he would know that she was not coping with what happened. Shaking her head, Veronica hit send. It was after 2am, he had to be in bed by now and there was a good chance that someone was sharing that bed with him.

_Don't pretend you don't wish it was you Veronica Mars_ Lily teased. Veronica turned a slight shade of red but internally denied the claim. She was with Duncan now. It was Duncan she wanted to go to tonight, and it was Duncan that she had messaged. Figuring he was asleep and wouldn't be replying, Veronica set the phone down next to her. So when it vibrated against her a few seconds later, she jumped from the noise. Smiling, she saw that it was a reply message from Duncan.

'I was sleeping, but I'll always have time for you. Of course I could use your company.'

Veronica's smile widened as she typed out a quick reply telling him she would be there in 10 minutes. She wasn't going to get any sleep here so she threw on some shoes and hurried out the door to her car.

Arriving at the Neptune Grand she felt a bit self-conscious as she made her way through the lobby in her pyjamas but since it was fairly late, there was hardly anybody around to see her. She smiled briefly at the young night clerk on reception as she quickly moved to the private elevator that would take her to Duncan's suite.

As the elevator stopped on the 10th floor, Veronica stepped out and walked to the door of the suite surprised that Duncan wasn't standing there waiting for her. She lightly knocked on the wooden door and waited. After a minute she was still waiting outside so she knocked again. This time the door swung open, and expecting it to be her boyfriend she launched into his arms.

"Nice to see you too Ronnie, but is there a reason you're at my door at 3am?" Veronica heard the sleepy male voice above her as she lay her head against his chest, arms wrapped around his middle. She sprung away from him when she realized who she was hugging.

Logan stood in the doorway, his trademark smirk firmly in place as he stood with one arm above his head holding the door, causing his t-shirt to slightly rise above his low slung jeans giving her a glimpse of his tanned washboard stomach. Veronica chanced a look at him, but one look at his face and all the horrible memories from today came back to the forefront of her mind.

"You know this was Duncan's place first." Veronica informed him as she pushed past his towering form to enter the suite. Logan turned around as he pushed the door closed. Expecting her to have taken refuge inside Duncan's room straight away, he was surprised to see her still standing in the living room.

"O-kay, so what brings you to _our_ door at 3am?" Logan asked her back.

"Couldn't sleep." She replied, not turning around. "Didn't want to be alone."

"Now, now. Your dad and I might not be trading friendship bracelets anytime soon, but he's not invisible."

"He's not home. Went out for a case." Veronica shrugged. "And besides, I didn't tell him what happened."

Logan didn't need to ask her what she was referring to. His face fell as he remembered seeing her on that pool table and the terror that had gripped him when he realized the situation that he had gotten her into. While her back was still to him, he noticed that her shoulders started shaking and he knew she was crying. Concerned, he came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Hey, it's fine now." He tried to reassure her. "They're not going to hurt you."

Veronica didn't want his comfort, she was here for Duncan's so she quickly wiped beneath her eyes and turned to face him. She didn't fail to notice that this also caused his hands to fall off her, and she was grateful he was no longer touching her.

"What are you doing up anyway?" She asked, changing the topic. Logan let her, remembering what had happened the last time he had tried talking to her after what had happened with one of the Fitzpatrick brothers.

"I fell asleep on the couch and my sex dream with Scarlett Johansson was rudely interrupted by a pesky blonde at my door."

Veronica rolled her eyes. "Again, it's not _your_ door." She threw over her shoulder as she made her way into Duncan's room.

She stepped into the dark room and could just make out Duncan's shape under the comforter in the middle of the bed. She smiled as she sat on the end of the bed to take off her shoes before climbing in next to him. He grinned as he felt her lying down next to him and shifted to the right as he opened his arms so she could snuggle in to his side.

"And to what do I owe this pleasure?" he mumbled into her neck, keeping his eyes closed.

"I just missed you" Veronica whispered, not wanting to get into it.

"Well I'm not complaining." He said happily. "But now it's time for sleep."

Veronica nodded in agreement and turned onto her side, her back facing Duncan's front as she closed her eyes hoping to find sleep.

Veronica opened her eyes and the room was still dark. Again, she had awoken from a nightmare of the events of that day. The sinking realization that things were getting out of control as Liam walked over to her, being grabbed by Danny and then her failed attempt to make a run for it, the threatening tone of Liam as he held her to the pool table.

She could feel the solid presence of Duncan behind her and the familiar weight of his arm around her waist. She had been so sure he would have kept the nightmares at bay, but then again she hadn't told him what had gone down at the River Stix. Maybe if she talked to him about it, the memories wouldn't be so bad. She moved in his arms, hoping the movement would wake him up but he didn't even stir as she not so quietly turned to face him. She placed her hands on his chest between them, softly pushing him as she called his name. He didn't even flinch.

_Veronica Mars _Lily's voice suddenly piped up _you know there's someone else in this suite who already knows about what happened_. Veronica shook her head as she tried calling Duncan's name again, this time a bit louder. Duncan stirred and Veronica expected him to wake up. But without opening his eyes, Duncan just shifted and turned away from Veronica, putting his back to her.

Veronica sighed as she gave up and flopped onto her back. Knowing sleep was never going to come until she talked about what happened, she considered the other sleeping occupant of the suite. But no, she couldn't turn to him. She had practically bit his head off when he had dropped her off at Mars Investigations after the incident.

_All the more reason to go in there_ Lily wisely stated. _You should thank him for saving your life._

_Since when did you start playing matchmaker with your ex-boyfriend?_ Veronica asked the voice in her head.

_Duh, do you even remember what I was like when I was alive?_ Lily answered. _Logan is like my toy and you know I like to play with my toys._

Veronica rolled her eyes at that comment but stayed silent as Lily continued.

_And I'm not asking you to go in there and sleep with him, I'm just saying you should go talk to him. He'll understand._

Veronica thought Lily was giving Logan too much credit, but she did owe him a thank you and if she had to talk about it, she didn't really want to have to explain it all from the beginning and relive the whole event. Veronica was resigned to the fact that Logan was the best person to go to so she crawled out of bed and started to make her way to the other one across the hall.

Veronica slowly made her way through the dark suite, not having spent enough time here to safely navigate the floor plan in the dark. She knocked into the couch and the coffee table, but eventually made her way to the other side of the room and outside Logan's bedroom door. She bit her lip as she stood outside the door, listening for any sounds coming from the room. Of course there were none, he was probably in a deep sleep dreaming about Scarlett again, or maybe he had moved on to someone more attainable –

_Like you_, _Veronica Mars_ Lily interrupted.

Like Kendall. Veronica shuddered as she thought about all the frequent sleepovers that woman has had with Logan.

Unsure why (she wasn't afraid of Logan!) Veronica took a big breath and stepped into the room. Veronica stood at the door, not moving into the room as she surveyed her surroundings. Like Duncan's room, the space was sparsely furnished with just a bed against one wall, a table on either side, a tall dresser against the opposite wall, with a high backed chair with a small table in the corner of the room.

Veronica could see Logan lying on his stomach in the middle of the huge bed, the comforter pushed down to his waist exposing his naked back. She knew he had adopted this position because of the many beatings he received from Aaron and the damage they had done to his back. He was facing away from her so she assumed he was asleep, so she jumped at the sound of his voice.

"I know I'm impressive to look at, but are you just going to stand there, Ronnie? It's getting kind of weird."

Veronica shook herself out of her daze and moved closer to the bed, but didn't make a move to sit down.

"Can we talk?" Veronica asked quietly shifting from foot to foot as she stood before him.

Logan didn't move his body, but turned his face to look at her. "I can think of more interesting things we can do in here." He insinuated with a smirk on his face.

Veronica rolled her eyes at his smart response. "I knew this was a bad idea." And she turned to leave.

"Wait." Logan reached out for her.

_Wait_ Lily also said at the same time.

Veronica stopped at Lily's voice, but it was the warm hand that wrapped around her upper arm that kept her there.

"Of course we can talk." Logan let go of her when she turned back to him. Logan went back to the bed and sat cross legged on one side facing her. He patted the space in front of him, inviting her to sit down. "What's wrong Veronica?"

As soon as he said her name in that sweet, soothing voice she felt the tears build in her eyes and one slide down her cheek. But still she stayed in place standing at the edge of the bed. As much as Logan wanted to grab her and pull her into a hug, he waited for her to come to him.

"I just keep reliving it all." She admitted as she clasped her hands in front of her and twisted them together. Logan stayed silent and let her get it off her chest.

"I was so scared. After they realized who I was I just panicked. I didn't know how I was going to get out of there, and all I could think about was my Dad." Veronica hiccupped as her throat got caught on the tears that were building. She was looking up at the ceiling, avoiding the sight of Logan.

"And then he stopped me from leaving and pushed me onto that table. I didn't know what I was going to do. I couldn't see a way out of it."

Logan swallowed past the lump in his throat. He had put her in that position. He had put her in danger. What would he have done if Liam had gone through with his threat?

"But then you were there." Veronica spoke, seemingly answering Logan's thoughts. She finally looked at him and he could see the tears making their way down her face. His heart broke for her. He still didn't make a move for her though, but he didn't have to as she finally sat cross legged in front of him on the bed. She sat close enough to him that their knees touched, but she didn't reach for him nor he her.

"When I heard your voice I thought that it was over. But then Liam just laughed." Veronica swiped at her eyes, but more tears just kept coming. "And he didn't let me go and now I was scared for both of us."

"I can take care of myself, Ronnie." Logan sighed.

"Clearly." Veronica rolled her eyes. So she was obviously still mad about the gun, but he would take the hit if it meant she would stop being upset.

"I said I was sorry about the gun." Logan muttered. Veronica gave him a disbelieving look.

"Well it was implied." He continued. "And there were a lot of things that weren't said this afternoon."

Veronica got up on her knees and moved closer to Logan and placed her hands on his broad shoulders. "Thank you." She whispered to him.

_Thank you for what?_ Lily prompted.

"Thank you for rescuing me." Veronica added as she tilted her head down so she could catch his eye.

"It's not like I had a choice." Logan answered. "If it wasn't for me you wouldn't have been in that club."

"But it was my idea to go in there alone." Veronica argued.

"Well no one ever said that you weren't stubborn." Logan grinned at her, noticing that she was no longer crying.

Veronica crossed her arms over her chest as she sat back onto her heels. "I'm not stubborn, I just wanted subtlety."

"And how did that work out for you?" Logan asked her, glad to see the fire returning to her eyes.

"It would have been fine if he had just believed me." Veronica huffed. Now it was Logan's turn to roll his eyes.

"And maybe if you hadn't tasered Danny and given away your cover."

"Well I had to get out of there. I didn't know my knight in shining armour was going to burst in."

"But you're glad he did." Logan said matter-of-factly.

Veronica laughed as she hit his shoulder. Logan playfully fell back onto the bed, pulling Veronica down with him.

"Do you feel better now?" Logan asked as he pulled her to his side so her head was resting against his shoulder. He felt Veronica nodding against him.

"Good. Can we go to sleep now?" Logan asked as he looked over at the alarm clock. "God, it's only 4 o'clock in the morning!"

"Sounds good." Veronica agreed "I'll let you get back to your dreams of Scarlett, or whoever."

Veronica tried to move away from Logan but he held her tight.

"Maybe you could stay and keep dreams of other girls away?" Logan asked.

"And you can keep dreams of the Fitzpatricks away." Veronica agreed as she moved closer into his side and he tightened his hold on her.


End file.
